How to Identify Your IDEAL Client so that You Can Work With More of Them

We’ve all got them, the clients that you dread getting calls from. Maybe they are really needy or demanding. Maybe they don’t see the value in your product and are always arguing about pricing. Regardless I’m sure when you read that one or two clients immediately came to mind. On the flip side, I’d be willing to bet that you have a handful of really exceptional clients. Ones that seem to just “GET’ what you are trying to to do, who work with you instead of against you, and who really see the value in your offering, and maybe are even a good referral source for you.

So how do you get more of those Dream clients and lose some of those Nightmare clients?

It may be easier than you think, but the first step is intentionality. Make a list of the best clients you have that you absolutely love working with and serving. Write down all of their characteristics individually and then look for commonalities. Think about things like typical demographics (age, gender, location, income level, hobbies etc.) but also go deeper to think about their personality traits, what problems and fears they have (think in their own language). Really try to get inside the mind of your ideal client so that you can start to understand how they work.

Once you Identify them how do you Attract them?

Wayne Dyer says “You don’t attract what you want, but what you are”. So take a look back at the list of characteristics you made, where do you fit into that list? Would you work with yourself based on that criteria? If your answer is no, then you have some internal work to do in your own business so that you can begin to attract the kind of clients you want. Consider this, if you work in a chaotic, stress-filled environment, you are going to attract chaotic, stressed out people. BUT if you cultivate your own culture to be organized, productive, and stress-free, then you will attract clients who are looking for the same thing.

What do I do about the clients who aren’t quite ideal?

This is often the first question we get from business owners after they have identified their ideal client. There isn’t one blanket answer for all situations on this question. But here are a few things you can think about to help get moving in the right direction.

What is your quality of life at work right now? If it is extremely low, then you need to examine if there are clients that need to be fired immediately in order to begin cultivating the culture that will attract your ideal client.

Are there less than ideal clients who could be nurtured into ideal clients? Maybe they aren’t at your top service offering level but they have potential. Maybe they don’t fully understand what you can do for them. Many of your less than ideal clients can be nurtured and over time become closer to that ideal. It all starts with communication from you. Recommend more solutions that you can offer them. Set a new tone for your meetings that fits better with the culture you are cultivating. If they truly have potential, most will follow your lead.

Getting more of your ideal clients to work with you is all about intentionality. Become your own ideal client. Make the changes you need to make internally so that you can attract the right people. It may not happen overnight, but with some effort and intentionality you will be able to communicate who you are, and it will begin to resonate with your ideal clients!

What have your experiences been with great, or not so great clients? What have you done to develop less than ideal clients into ideal clients? Leave us your answers in the comments below!